I live in Queensland, Australia. These very small clumps of grass are growing better than our introduced domestic types in a shady, dry part of the yard. I'm not sure if it's a native, but I know I never planted it. It's been in this and another area, for many years. Could it be a type of Festuca? The blades lie flat, very close to the ground and the largest clump is only around 5 inches across. I'd like to encourage it to grow where it is, as it's an area hard to access with a mower and the domestic grass doesn't do well there. (The purple flowers are from the near by Jacaranda tree and those long blades belong to another grass.) Any ideas as to what it is and how to cultivate it? small clumping grass ( photo / image / picture from Snap's Garden )
No grass ID here, but you can , most likely, divide the clumps and spread them out. Water well, cut the clumps into two or more if they are big enough, and gently lift them (cut around or dig around them to keep as much of the roots and soil intact) and transplant them to where you want them. Or wait to see if they flower and go to seed. Harvest the seeds, start them in a control area or in a greenhouse and transplant them.
It looks like a Fescue but with about 300 species in that Genus I have no idea which one. And the various species do range in size from what you describe to about 2 meters tall. If someone in your general area has some growing in their garden, birds could have dropped seeds for you. Since it's been there for years and hasn't spread it most likely isn't invasive and dangerous to native plants so I would think dividing and replanting to make new plants would be the best way to spread them around.
